hedi slimane ysl

It’s interesting how in natural human behaviour, we tend to want what we cant have or what we may have missed out on, and this is well known by one Hedi Slimane (Saint Laurent Head designer) who has shown once again, in this his 3rd RTW collection for the house, his affinity with times gone by this time taking shape in the 1980’s. While Slimane’s 90’s grunge Fall collection caused major controversy among the fashion elite, through this he managed to single-handedly reignite the decade into everyones wardrobe, thanks to the twenty somethings demand for ‘the cool grungey era’ that they like soooo wish they had have been around for. yolo.

So last night Slimane decided to direct everyone back again to the wardrobes of 80’s rockstars for a pit stop involving some of the great traits of the decade such as lame, one shoulder ruffles, sequins, skinny ties and mid heel rounded points (the ‘sensible’ peeps will be wrapped. And so will most other women, who can now wear a low comfortable pump and blame Saint Laurent for being on trend, instead of blaming their inability to let go of the 80’s). I love the slick finish of this collection and I’m continually baffled by the way Slimane can present a very obvious (and usually ugly) inspiration/direction in his collections and somehow make it look shiny, new, attractive and desirable again. I mean if I said I was lusting after a high waisted animal print sequinned skirt, you’d probably say ‘Great, the costume shop is down the road’ but after this collection, you’re probably now forced to say “Yeah, its a shame there is no Saint Laurent shop in Melbourne, just wait until Zara does a good copy’. See what I’m trying to say? Great. So now enough of my jibber jabber, enjoy the video (which I highly recommend watching as it sets the mood perfectly) and the pics, appreciate his impeccably structured suits and ponder your future channeling an 80’s rockstar…

saint laurent ss14 paris fashion week stylesnooperdan

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Anyone who follows the goings on of the fashion world would be well aware of the new era in which luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent, is being thrust into. Upon opening my laptop this morning to the news that Marilyn Manson was the new face of the Saint Laurent Mens campaign, I decided it was high time to discuss this new direction. I’ve also now just added these new images of the women’s winter campaign featuring none other than Courtney Love…

The new mens Saint Laurent campaign featuring Marilyn Manson

The man himself, Yves Saint Laurent established the label of the same name in 1961 and is well known for pioneering the womans suit and encouraging power dressing for the women of the 60’s. In my view, the YSL signature is that of luxe fabrics, dark and broody pallettes and an obvious 60’s 70’s flavour, something which was completely non existent in the recent AW 13/14 collection which I think is completely fine, given the ‘new direction’ the brand is going in.

Young Yves Saint Laurent sketching on blackboard

Yves Saint Laurent fits a suit

This new direction is being strongly driven by new Head Creative Director, Hedi Slimane, a man unafraid of controversy, pushing boundaries or even telling the world that he thinks well respected NY times fashion critic, Cathy Horyn, has ‘seriously challenged personal style’ and that she will ‘never have a seat at Saint Laurent’. This obviously comes after her scathing review on his first collection for the brand, which she described as ‘flat and suppressed’, I personally disagree as I loved that collection and felt it very true to YSL roots, see it here. The two have since, continued a war of fashion furious words over Twitter, for the joy of us all to see. Slimane has been the head designer for Dior Homme prior to his appointment at YSL and boasts an incredible folio of design work.

Personally, as I said earlier, I completely adore his first SL collection, however AW 13 did miss the mark for me, as when it comes to fashion and collections, I have a penchant for glamour, shiny things and beautiful women, the opposite of this raw LA party girl. In addition, the fact that I actually lived through and embraced 90’s grunge (just to paint the picture, I was in grade 6, listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Live on my discman, I lived in my cords, flannel shirt & vans and avoided washing or brushing my hair at all costs) may also be the reason why I personally, am happy to avoid it’s potential rebirth.

In saying this, I can still appreciate the design side to this collection and the newness it could bring to the current fashion climate. To me, the distinct difference between the women YSL have produced and the girl SL has produced is that in itself. One is a woman and one is on the verge of becoming a woman, but still is just a girl. I wonder if this is a deliberate attempt by Slimane to mirror the change in the brand and help signify a new rebirth of the well known YSL woman, starting her off at a younger age. The soft beauty of the YSL woman and the raw, relevant, festival, LA dwelling girl that Hedi Slimane has produced, can never go head to head but must somehow make a relevant connection to maintain the YSL heritage.

Saint Laurent SS13 by Hedi Slimane

Saint Laurent AW13 by Hedi Slimane

YSL designs by Stefano Pilati

Since taking over the reigns form Stefano Pilati (who held the role for 8 years prior before leaving for Ermenegildo Zegna) Slimane has made it quite clear to the world that times are a changing for YSL with his first step possibly the most controvrsial of all: To remove the ‘Yves’ from the name and re brand as ‘Saint Laurent Paris’. This is obviously intriguing as luxury fashion houses tend to rely on the consistency & tradition behind their name to create a sense of grandeur, experience and timelessness for their customers. I mean no one would surely dare change the name of Chanel, even if it was to Coco or something still representative of the brand, as it would signal a possible change in the product as a whole, potentially confusing the consumer and laying the house for speculation of identity crisis, obviously not ideal.

The Old

The New

This change however, was strategic by Slimane as it was the key public change to come before his current collection, which came as somewhat of a shock to many. The Courtney Love inspired 90’s grunge look was received with mixed emotions and honestly, more negativity than anything else, however again this appears to be a deliberate attempt by Slimane, to unconsciously demand notoriety through his persistence in not succumbing to the pressures and expectations of those around him but to instead maintain his path and deliver a new life into the YSL brand. It is a bold move he makes, but somehow a successful one. Slimane has plenty a celeb supporter with his new ’24’ staple Saint Laurent bag already on the arms of some of the best.

Kate Moss, Rosie HW, Beyonce, Gwyneth & Lilly Allen all with the ’24’ bag

The YSL house support Slimanes vision, explaining that he will help take the house back to it’s original ideas, “he will restore the house back to it’s truth, purity, essence” This made me really think what that truth and purity was, and it wasn’t until I began to research YSL more thoroughly that the penny actually dropped. I now see that Slimane’s decisions are a result of his desire to return the purpose of his designs back to the time of the 1960’s, when Yves himself was defying convention and social norms through his Pret a Porter collection which contained power suits and strong fluid lines, something never even considered for the woman of the 1960’s. Imagine, how completely controversial a woman wearing a couture luxury fitted pant suit would have been in 1964, surely there would have been an outrage! Much like the outrage that has come after the Seattle movement collection, Slimane has just sent down the runway.

Yves Saint Laurent at work on a Couture gown

Now while I’m still not convinced that Slimane is having the same groundbreaking achievements in design as his labels namesake, just yet, I now think I understand where he is heading the house and how he is attempting to restore the original essence of what Yves Saint Laurent is really all about, innovation, fresh eyes and rawness. I will wait eagerly to see how and where this incredible designer takes this old worldly label…